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Apple Sandwiches with Lady Lamb the Beekeeper

Every month or so, I’ll be partnering with one of my favorite local sites, Brooklyn Based, to bring you an exclusive song by a Brooklyn band, recorded at Nadim Issa’s state-of-the-art recording studio in Gowanus, Let ‘Em In Music. Then, I’ll create a recipe with — or inspired by — the featured artist. This month’s mp3 is Lady Lamb the Beekeeper performing Cher’s Phil Spector-produced cover of Bob Dylan’s “All I Really Want To Do” (get the free mp3, watch the video, and read my feature on her here), and here are the apple sandwiches I made with Aly Spaltro, aka Lady Lamb. All photos by Dominick Mastrangelo.

THE INSPIRATIONWhen I first approached Aly Spaltro, aka Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, about cooking with me for ETB/BB Songs, she said, “How do you feel about apple sandwiches? I’ll tell you all about ’em.” When she came to my apartment last month, I learned that her mom had started a blog of random childhood memories, and a recent post had been about sandwiches Aly’s grandfather used to make for her mom: toasted bread with butter, baked apples, honey and cinnamon-sugar. Not only was this perfect for October (because of National Apple Month), but it’s also fitting for Aly’s music, which is perfect for fall and, coincidentally, she happens to mention apples quite a bit. In a lovely song on her record Mammoth Swoon (called “Apple,” of course), she sings, “So suffice to say, if you walked away, I would be a lonely apple,” and she says there’s a song called “You Are The Apple” on her forthcoming LP (read more about that here. “I don’t know what my deal is,” she says. “I just love them. I love the word … I don’t even realize it when I’m writing, I’m just like, ‘Yeah, this makes sense; apple, apple.'”

So, here’s a delicious twist on Aly’s grandpa’s apple sandwiches. These are all veggie, but for meat eaters she recommends adding some turkey to it, too.

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Toss the apple rings with cinnamon and layer them in a buttered glass baking dish. Bake for about 40 minutes (carefully mix them up about halfway through), until apples are soft but not mushy.

• In a small bowl, whisk together yogurt, cider vinegar and honey, then toss in a large bowl with the shredded cabbage, carrots, celery and raisins.